Commitment
by Mandie scifi lover
Summary: Sam and Teal'c have been married for 5 years. She is torn between her love and commitment to Teal'c and her attraction to Cam. Sam and Cam go on a fateful mission together that has her questioning her loyalties. Will she choose Cam or will she remain faithful to Teal'c? A little AU. Daniel and Vala also. Already complete, just posting chapters now.
1. Chapter 1

They had been married for five years.

Carter sighed happily as she thought about it. She could barely believe it had been that long. Working late in her lab as usual, Teal'c had thought to bring her blue Jello from the cafeteria before he left for the night. Even though it wasn't much, it still made her feel warm inside. Kissing her, he had pulled away and said,

"Do not work too hard Samanthacarter."

She had shaken her head at him, rolling her eyes at his use of her full name. He only used it now in jest.

Now finding her eyes too heavy to keep open, she rested her head briefly on the table.

"_Majorcater," Teal'c said as he followed her down the hall to her lab. She turned to smile at him as she unlocked the door._

"_Yeah Teal'c, what is it?"_

_He seemed a little uneasy, which was unusual for Teal'c. Cater opened the door and invited Teal'c in after her. Once she had assumed her customary position behind her work table, Teal'c spoke._

"_Majorcarter, I do not know how these things work on your planet, but Colonel O'neill has appraised me of some of your customs."_

_Sam frowned at him with a smile. "Yeah? Customs for what?"_

_Teal'c cleared his throat and seemed ill-at ease. "Customs for the courting of females."_

_Carter almost laughed but then felt a strange sense of jealousy. She and Teal'c had grown close over the past couple years, especially after Teal'c's wife had died, and Carter knew she felt more for him than just friendship. She looked away for a moment, fiddling with a piece of alien tec._

"_Is there someone you want to court?"_

_She kept her eyes down, hoping he would say it quickly and get it over with. He surprised her when she felt soft fingers caress her chin, coaxing her face up to look at him. She felt her breath catch as their eyes connected._

"_Yes, Samanthacarter. You."_

_Surprised and distracted by Teal'c fingers, she didn't respond right away, but quickly said,_

"_Me?"_

_He made one of his customary grunts of ascent and let his hand drop from her face. "I would be honored if you would join me for coffee tomorrow when you have finished working."_

_Samantha smiled at him and nodded. "Okay, but there's one condition."_

_Teal'c raised one of his eyebrows._

"_You have to call me Sam or Samantha, no more double names."_

_Teal'c cracked a small smile and gave her a nod._

"…Carter… Carter!"

The voice broke into her dream and she jerked awake, sitting up quickly and almost falling off her stool. Mitchell's strong arms kept her from falling clear to the ground.

"Whoa there. You all right? I didn't mean to scare ya."

He let go of her once she righted herself on the stool and stepped back. Smiling at him tiredly, she nodded.

"I was dreaming about the first time Teal'c asked me out."

Mitchell smiled. "Speaking of Teal'c, maybe you should go home, get some sleep." His eyes were concerned.

Carter shrugged. "No, I think I'll just get some coffee instead. I've got to finish this analysis before tomorrow. I guess Teal'c will be sleeping alone again."

"It's a good thing you two work together or you'd never see each other." He said it in jest but Carter had to admit it was partially true. Getting up, she made her way to the door but Cam stopped her with a gentle hand on the arm.

"Hey, I'll get it for you. You stay and keep workin'."

Sam looked up into his clear blue eyes and smiled slightly, resolutely ignoring the tingles that were spreading up her arm from his fingers.

"Thanks Cam."

"No problem," he said with a smile and made his way out of her office.

Sitting back down on the stool, she shook her head to herself, staring at the table. She loved Teal'c, there was no question about that, but she was feeling more and more attraction to Cam with each passing day. At first she wanted to blame it on some kind of alien tech but all the tests she had run had come up with nothing. And anyway, she knew she was just looking for an excuse.

Teal'c she loved with her heart and soul but there was no question in her mind that she was attracted to Cam. She loved Cam on a certain level, as a team member and friend, but she was scared of that love growing. Of course, she was committed to Teal'c no matter what, but her physical attraction to Cam was starting to unsettle her.

And it wasn't just physical. She was attracted to him as a person. He was funny, caring, kind, but also commanding and firm when he needed to be. He was a good leader and a true friend.

Rubbing her face, she sighed, willing the thoughts to stop, willing her mind to cease running in circles. _I love Teal'c… but Cam is so hot… why am I so attracted to him?... but Teal'c is hot too… why can't Cam just be a friend?... Is it normal to feel attraction to someone I'm not married too?_

"Hey," Cam said as he entered her lab with two coffee cups. "You sleepin' again?"

Looking up from her hands, she shook her head. "No, just thinking."

He held out the cup to her and she took it, her hand brushing his. She could feel the tendrils of energy making their way up her arm from their contact. Grinding her teeth loudly, she took a long sip and then looked down at her work, trying to ignore Cam.

"You want to talk about it?"

"What?" she asked, surprised.

"Do you want to talk about whatever is bothering you? Because I can tell something is wrong."

Sighing and rolling her eyes, she shook her head. "I'm fine Cam, really, I just need to finish this work."

Hoping he would take the hint, she looked down again and he nodded. "All right well… let me know if you change your mind."

After Cam left her lab, Sam sighed and rubbed her eyes again. She would never cheat on Teal'c, not even on pain of death… would she?

OOOOO

The next morning, Teal'c knocked on the door to her lab and smiled when her eyes connected with his.

"Teal'c," she said with a smile. He walked into the room and wrapped her up in a tight hug. A moment later, he leaned down to kiss her. He was just deepening the kiss when the loud voice of Colonel Mitchell came from the hall.

"Hey kids, briefing in five!"

Sam pulled away to see Cam's hand come up, indicating five minutes. Then he quickly turned, practically bolting down the hall away from them. Sam giggled a little and Teal'c turned to glare at Mitchell's retreating form. Sam let her arms fall from Teal'c.

"I'm sorry I didn't make it home last night." She looked at Teal'c, waiting for a reaction.

"You had much work to do, Samantha. I was able to watch many reruns of the X-files. It was not an altogether wasted night."

Sam laughed. "So you prefer the X-files to me?"

His strong hands came around her body once again and he looked into her eyes. "I do not prefer anything to you, Samantha."

She smiled. "Thanks Teal'c."

Five minutes later, they were all assembled in the briefing room with Landry at the head and Colonel Mitchel across from Samantha, Teal'c next to her, and Vala and Daniel next to Mitchell.

"So, Colonel Carter," Landry began in his brusque manner, "What do you have for me? I hear you were working all night!"

Colonel Carter nodded. "Yes sir. Unfortunately I haven't gotten very far. I really need the translations from Daniel if I'm going to make any headway. And I also need someone who would be willing to be experimented on."

Landry frowned. "Colonel?"

Sam took a breath. "Well sir, I can't make the device work except when it's in contact with a human. It seems to be activated by living tissue."

"Hm," Landry grunted. "And how are the translations coming Dr. Jackson?"

Daniel raised his eyebrows. "Well sir, I was also here all night-

Vala interrupted. "Yes he was. And leaving a newlywed bride at home alone isn't very nice. What do you say muscles?" she said as she turned to Teal'c. "Sam and Daniel are here all night, we should get together, play some cards, listen to music, watch the X-files?"

Daniel turned to Vala. "Not you too? Teal'c showed you the X-files?" Vala gave him one of her winning smiles and Daniel turned to Sam. "Now we'll never be free of that show."

Sam held back a laugh as she glanced sideways at Teal'c but Landry interrupted.

"People! Stay on task please! Dr. Jackson, your translation?"

Daniel cleared his throat and gave Vala a short sideways look. "As I was saying… I was also here all night and I believe we may have actually stumbled across a language that is entirely new. I can't find any similarities to any language here on earth."

Mitchell frowned. "Wait, don't all languages have some roots in Earth culture because all the other worlds were populated by ancients?"

Daniel nodded.

"So," Cam continued, "The fact that this language is completely unrelated is actually a very important find."

Daniel nodded again with his eyebrows raised.

"All right all right people." Landry cut in. "I'm assuming you would like to go back to the planet and check it out?"

Daniel nodded. "Yes sir, that would be the most helpful to my translation."

"All right," Landry said with finality. "Daniel and Vala, you will go back to the planet with SG14 and continue to attempt translating the ruins. Colonel Mitchel, you will assist Colonel Carter with her tests and Teal'c, you're needed on Chulak. The council is having deliberations which require your presence. Bray'tac called only an hour ago to request that you join him."

Teal'c gave Landry a slight head bow as the General rose from his seat. Mitchell and Carter stood.

"Get to it and good luck."

OOOOO

A little while later, after everyone had left, Mitchell joined Carter in her lab.

"So, what's happening? Am I in for a wild ride?" Mitchells blue eyes danced as he looked at Carter. She smiled at him.

"Well, I really have no idea what this does yet so I can't guarantee everything will go as planned. But, I'm not detecting anything strange or harmful coming from the device and there were no warnings that we could decipher on the ruins." She shrugged. "You should be fine."

Mitchell let out a short laugh. "Well… if you say so."

He sat down on a stool next to her behind the desk and she cleared her throat as she looked at her computer screen. This was going to be harder than she thought. She could already feel his presence next to her; the heat from his body, the gentle nervous shaking of his leg. She sighed, trying to put it out of her mind. This really would be much easier if Teal'c were here.

"Okay," Sam said as she turned to Mitchell. He looked at her expectantly and their eyes met. "When I say go, put your hand on the device, okay?" He nodded.

"Go."

He put his hand gently on the palm sized device and Sam looked at the computer she had hooked up to it. There was a sudden energy spike and the device started emitting a low hum. Cam looked at Sam nervously.

"Is it supposed to be doing that?" He asked.

Sam furrowed her brow. "I don't know but I'm pretty sure it's not going to hurt you… Just a couple more seconds…"

Just then, the device stopped humming and the energy output went back to zero. Cam took his hand off the device and looked at Sam in surprise.

"Sam," he said. She turned to him from her computer screen and watched as he moved his arm around.

"You remember how I have that shoulder issue? I've pulled it out of its socket one too many times?"

Sam nodded, still looking at his arm.

"Well, it doesn't hurt anymore."

Sam frowned at him. "Not at all? You were complaining about it this morning when I barely tapped you in the hall."

"I know!" Cam said with passion. "That's what I'm sayin'!" He held out his arm to her. "Try it now."

"What, tapping your shoulder?"

Cam shrugged. "Well, whatever. Just try to get a pain response."

Standing, she punched him lightly in the arm. He turned to her with an eye roll.

"Sam," he drawled out, "You're gonna have to do better than that."

"All right, all right," Sam muttered and then punched him considerably harder.

Cam laughed loudly and stood up. "That would have had me on the floor before now! I mean, it hurt a little but, I bet you anything my shoulder is healed."

Laughing with him, she shook her head. "So this is a healing device?"

Cam shrugged. "Stands to reason."

"Huh…" Sam frowned. "I wonder why it didn't work on me."

Cam gave her a friendly elbow. "Probably because you don't have anything wrong with you."

She conceded the point with a raised eyebrow and then turned to Cam. "So, you don't feel any side effects?"

"Nope! I'm fit as a fiddle!"

She raised her eyebrows again and cocked her head to the side. "Well, I guess we'll see. I mean, a device like this has to have side effects right?"

Cam surprised her by touching her arm lightly and standing much closer to her than she had expected. "Sam," he said, "Not everything has to have negative side effects."

She felt the breath catch in her throat at his crystal blue eyes. She could see it in his eyes, feel it in his body; he was attracted to her too. After a moment, he cleared his throat and pulled away, releasing her arm.

"So," he said a little awkwardly, "Do we need to do any more tests?"

"Uh… no. I think maybe you should go see Dr. Lam though, find out if your shoulder is better."

Cam gave her a patronizing look. "Sam, if my shoulder wasn't better, it wouldn't feel like this."

Giving him an equally patronizing look, she said, "Cam, just humor me. There are a number of different ways this device could work. I want to find out as much about it as I can."

A moment passed. "All right," he said, "I'm goin'."

Shaking her head as he left, she sighed, pushing her feelings firmly out of her mind.


	2. Chapter 2

As it turned out, Cam's should was healed. And it looked like there were no side effects to be seen for the moment. They briefed General Landry on the device soon after and he relayed the information to Daniel in case it was of any help. They still hadn't made much headway on the translations but they had found another gate address, hidden among the text where they had found the device. General Landry, of course, wanted it checked out as soon as possible. They sent a MALP through to see what the planet was like. The General declared the mission a go and scheduled it for the next day.

With Daniel and Vala doing translation and Teal'c on Chulak, that left Sam and Cam to go on this mission. That fact had Sam a little worried, worried enough that she decided to go visit Teal'c on Chulak for the night. With permission from General Landry, she went to the ready room to gear up.

She always kept a spare set of robes in the ready room, in case last minute trips to Chulak came up, which they often did. Since they had been married, Sam had kept robes of the Jaffa and worn them whenever she visited Chulak. At first she had found it odd to have the long folds of material billowing around her body, not to mention that she was dressed in "civilian" garb off world. But, when she thought about the fact that Teal'c wore SGC uniform when he was on Earth, it made her feel less awkward.

The ones she had in her locker were a light gray base color, with a dusty blue overwrap that Teal'c always said brought out her eyes. The shoulder clasp was carved silver that Bratac had given her at their wedding.

Taking her small bag, she was through the gate in no time, emerging into a balmy spring day on Chulak. There was a slight breeze and her robes almost felt too warm. The warriors at the gate recognized her and gave her a nod as she came down the steps.

Making her way in the direction of the city, she knew it wasn't far, just over the ridge and down a winding path. Teal'c and her had bought a house on Chulak soon after their marriage. Sam had said it wasn't necessary but Teal'c had insisted, wanting Sam to feel at home on his world also. She knew it was more for him than her, but she was okay with that and understood his need to stay connected to his home world. After all, Ryac and his wife still lived on Chulak and it was important to stay connected with them, especially since they were expecting a child.

With the reminder of their happy tidings, Sam felt her heart sink again. She knew and had known when she married Teal'c, that there would never be hope of a child. But, like most women, she longed to have her own children. Sometimes she was okay with it, thinking it was better this way, but other times she wished they could conceive. She had mentioned adoption to Teal'c but he seemed to find the idea of adopting a stranger's child odd. Apparently on Chulak, if a child became an orphan it was always the next of kin's responsibility to care for the child.

With these thoughts it was not too much time later when she arrived at the main government building. One of the council members, Ha'kar, ran into her as she was exiting the building.

"Samantha!" she said, bowing her head. "It is a nice surprise to see you here. The council is just breaking up. I think Teal'c is still in the chambers."

"Thanks Ha'kar. It's good to see you too."

Sam made her way inside to wait by the door but she didn't have to wait long. Teal'c came out, deep in conversation with Bra'tac, and almost missed her tall blond form completely. When he did notice her, he did a double take with surprise.

"Samantha," he said as he made his way to her quickly. "Is everything all right?"

She smiled as he took her hands. "Yes, everything is fine. I just thought we could spend the night at the house. Perhaps see Ryac and Kar'yn."

Teal'c looked into her eyes carefully and could see she wasn't telling him the truth. He frowned. "Samantha, I believe we have been married long enough to know when you are not being truthful. Are you certain there is nothing you wish to speak about?"

Sam sighed and could tell she was giving herself away with her eyes. "No Teal'c, there's nothing."

He bowed his head to her and then turned to allow Bra'tac into the circle. He smiled at them and greeted Sam with a firm forearm grip.

"Samantha, it is good to see you. It has been too long."

"Yes it has. The SGC keeps us pretty busy."

They continued to talk with Bra'tac for a little while and invited him for dinner that night. Teal'c knew there was something going on with Samantha, so he tried to keep their conversation short so they could start walking home. When they finally exited the council building, the sun was half way to the horizon. Sam found herself yawning. After all, it was 2 AM for her and Teal'c. There were downsides to living on two worlds.

Teal'c took Samantha's bag from her and linked hands. Keeping his face forward, he asked,

"Samantha, I know there is something bothering you. I think it would be helpful for you to share what it is."

Samantha let out a short sigh and internally shook her head. Teal'c was all too perceptive for her liking. She couldn't tell him the real reason she was being bothered. He was liable to go rushing back to the SGC and kill Colonel Mitchell. Then where would they be? But, in all seriousness, Teal'c wasn't very good at forgiveness and what spouse would understand what was bothering her? 'Sorry honey, I'm attracted to someone else but I still love you…' Yeah right.

Sam shook her head and grunted in frustration. Teal'c remained silent at her side. That's one thing that really annoyed her about him. He was silent much too often. Of course, Cam tended to talk too much but at least you never wondered what he was thinking.

Sighing but knowing what she had to do, Sam set her teeth. "I guess I'm just thinking about Kar'yn and the baby and feeling bad for myself again."

She felt Teal'c hand get tighter around hers and heard him grunt in understanding.

"I too wish we could have children but, it is not possible Samantha."

They were silent for a time until Teal'c spoke again.

"Do you regret marrying a Jaffa?"

"Of course not," Sam answer quickly, and this time she was serious. She couldn't imagine life without Teal'c. "I love you Teal'c, you know that."

He grunted again, this time with a head nod. "I do know that. But that does not mean you do not regret our genetic incompatibility."

Sam let out a laugh unwittingly and Teal'c turned to her in surprise. She covered her mouth.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make light of it. I just… found it funny." Her expression was bashful and Teal'c couldn't help but admire how cute she looked. He found himself smiling as well and leaned down to kiss Sam on the forehead.

"I love you SamandaCarter."

She smiled up at him. "I love you too Teal'c."

OOOOO

Not too much time later, they approached their house on the outskirts of the city. It had a dark stone façade and was admittedly quite grand. Sam had protested the purchase of something so impressive, but Teal'c had insisted that his bride be given all she could want. "Besides," he had said, "you are providing me with an ample home on Earth. The least I can do is give you one here."

Sam had taken it as a male ego thing and allowed him to buy what he wanted. In any case, the Sho'va was given a special price, or so Teal'c said.

Opening the large, wooden door revealed a long room with a tall ceiling. The walls had been mostly stone, but over time, Sam had collected colorful tapestries to make the walls seem less imposing and barren. Most of them were from Chulak, but a few she had found on other worlds. When Teal'c had suggested hanging tapestries, Sam had first thought of the medieval kind she'd seen in museums. She had shuddered at the thought and rejected the idea. But, Teal'c had taken her to the market and she discovered they were nothing like their ancient Earth counterparts. The ones the Jaffa made were varied: some a riot of colors depicting everything from a sunset to an ocean, others drabber but interesting in their intricate designs. The one that hung above the fireplace was Sam's favorite; a sunset view over a Chulak forest, ripples of orange and yellow gradually melting into the dark green of the forest. She smiled to herself. It was good to be home.

Dropping her bag on a chair, she went immediately to the kitchen to see what kind of supplies they had. Sam had never been much of a cook but Teal'c had done his best to teach her. In any case, he still did most of the cooking but they usually approached the task together, with Teal'c doing most of the directing.

As she looked through their supplies, she realized they would have to go to the market. Since the word "processed food" meant nothing to the Jaffa, they rarely kept any food in the house when they left, as it would just spoil.

For the remaining hours of daylight, Teal'c and Sam prepared their home for their visitors, took a quick trip to the market, and made a traditional Jaffa meal for their guests. Sam also made coffee over their stove so she wouldn't face plant into her food from sleep deprivation. Though she was used to the feeling, it didn't get any easier to stay awake.

Their guests arrived near sundown, which was traditionally when dinner begins on Chulak. R'yac and Ka'ryn came in first, all smiles and hugs. Sam remembered when they had first become family; she had to teach them that hugging was the proper greeting for family members. Now they always hugged her when they saw her.

"Sha'hir," Ka'ryn said as she gathered Sam into a tight hug. Her stomach was a barrier between them and Sam had to laugh.

"Ka'ryn, how are you?"

She nodded with a smile. "Very good. The baby will come soon! I am glad you have come to visit!"

R'yac was next, giving her a hug and also calling her Sha'hir. Teal'c had explained to her that it meant literally, "mother who came later". When she had asked what that meant, Teal'c had said it was an affectionate term for a step-mother, specifically meaning a woman who had married a widower.

Dinner was an enjoyable occasion, with Bra'tac also joining them. It had been too long since they had all been together and Sam was glad to have their family all in one room.

When the night was done, Sam felt like she was ready to collapse and she knew she had to be back to the SGC in less than seven hours so she slept for five hours and then left a sleeping Teal'c with a light kiss. Though nothing had really been resolved, it had been nice for her to spend some time on Chulak.

When she arrived back through the gate from the dark night on Chulak, the bright lights of the gate room practically blinded her. Only the usual airmen were there to greet her. Cam was probably gearing up and Landry had better things to do than greet her coming home from a routine visit to Chulak.

She was in the ready room five minutes later and Cam was there, just shrugging on his green jacket. He smiled at her.

"JaffaBarbie!"

She rolled her eyes and punched him playfully in the arm. He liked to call her that when she had her robes on. He said if the Jaffa had made a Barbie variety, it would probably look like her.

"You gonna be ready to move out in half hour?" Cam asked, eyeing her completely robed body.

"Yeah, I can change fast… Provided you give me some privacy."

Their eyes met and his expression turned a little bashful. "Oh… right, sorry."

He grabbed his pack and was quickly out of the changing room.

Half hour later, they were both in the gate room, fully geared up and ready to go.

Landry nodded from behind the glass. "You have a go, Colonels. Be careful."

Mitchell gave him a sloppy salute and then turned to Sam. "Let's go get'em."

Sam nodded and they made their way through the gate.


	3. Chapter 3

The gate opened to severely mountainous terrain, as the MALP had shown. There didn't appear to be any civilizations nearby, but the MALP had spotted a ring platform near the gate. The day was grey, with a light drizzle on the air, the clouds low and billowing. Sam turned to comment on it to Cam but he was already on his way towards the rings.

She followed quickly, scanning the area for threats. They approached the rings soon after, immediately beginning to search for a way to activate them. After fifteen minutes of searching, they still couldn't find the control panel. Cam turned to Sam with a discouraged expression.

"Well, what do ya think? Search the area and then call it quits?"

Sam was about to agree when she noticed something glittering within the rings.

"Hey, what's that?" She asked and made her way into the rings. Cam followed her and they both bent over to look.

Before they knew what happened, the rings had activated and they were both caught in their energy. A moment later, they were deposited on a hard stone floor in the center of a perfectly circular room. Cam rose quickly, scanning the circumference and then making his way to the edge of the room so he could see everything, his gun held up. Sam did the same on the other side. When no one appeared, they relaxed slightly.

"So," Cam projected across the room. "What do you suppose just happened?"

Sam shrugged. "I don't know. Either someone activated the rings, or whatever was in the middle of the circle was the activator."

"And where do you suppose here is?"

Sam raised her eyebrows and shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."

They took a moment to observe the room they were in. It was perfectly round, with the rings in the very center. The floor appeared to be made of tan, polished stone and the walls were made of similar material. There was no carving or designs of any kind on the walls and the ceiling created a dome above them. There were four matching outcroppings spaced equidistance from each other around the top of the wall, before the dome started.

"Options?" Cam called.

Sam shrugged again and dropped her weapon, relaxing slightly. "I don't know. I mean, no one has appeared and there have been no threats on us. It seems right now like we activated the rings on our own. So, that means we have to find a way out."

Cam nodded. "All right, we'll start searching the walls for the control panel, right?"

Sam nodded, turning around. "Trace the wall. Look for any unusual lines or panels that might come open."

They both began their move around the room, tracing the wall with their hands. Sam couldn't seem to find anything out of the ordinary at first. As they made their way closer to each other, Sam began to feel a strange sensation, almost like a tingling feeling, in her stomach and her fingers. She shook it off, thinking she was dehydrated or getting a head ache, but it continued to get worse.

Not far from her, Cam was feeling the same symptoms but with more intensity.

They suddenly found that they were next to each other and their hands brushed. Sam pulled hers away quickly, muttering a short 'sorry' before looking up into Cam's blue eyes.

Both of them seemed to pause for a moment as they connected, the blue on blue sparking something that wasn't there before. Sam felt her heart beat faster and she had to remind herself to keep breathing. Cam also felt his mouth open slightly as he looked at Sam, thinking about how beautiful she was. His mind in a muddy haze, he almost felt like something else was controlling his body. He reached out one hand and brushed it across her face.

Something sparked then, something intense, and they both came together in a crash of lips and body, their P-90s clanging together between them. Sam clung to him, kissed him deeply, with need and hunger. There was no thought of anything else except what they were doing. Cam also kissed her with a passion he'd felt since they had met all those years ago. She had never been his, always Teal'cs, but he had always wished.

He unclipped his gun and let it fall to the floor, Sam following suite. With little gentleness, he pushed Sam against the wall and deepened the kiss, feeling her body under his.

Sam drank him in, almost feeling like she'd had too much wine. Her head buzzed with a fuzziness that hadn't been there before, her body tingling. Feeling lightheaded, she pulled away and Cam immediately went for her neck, making her inhale sharply in response.

Even with Cam still kissing her, pulling away seemed to clear some of the muddiness in her brain and she tried to push him away. Her arms, it seemed, wouldn't respond to her direction so she tried harder.

"Cam," she managed to say, but it came out more of a moan than anything else, which only served to encourage him. She briefly felt herself fall again into that muddy haziness and she knew the only thing that would save her was thinking of Teal'c.

"Oh God… Teal'c…" She muttered it lightly and then placed his image firmly in her brain. As it grew more present, the haze seemed to clear and she was finally able to muster the will power to push Cam away.

When she finally did, he stepped away a distance and she looked at his breathless form, his expression confused. They looked at each other for a moment and then Cam came towards her again. She quickly slid along the wall so he didn't gain on her. Still breathless, she shook her head.

"Teal'c."

That seemed to cut through a little of what Cam was feeling and realization dawned on his face.

"Hell… What were we doin'?"

Sam shook her head, shaken. "I don't know. I'd like to say it's some weird alien device that's making us… you know… but," she paused, taking a deep breath. "But I don't know if I can entirely blame it on that."

Cam looked at her and nodded, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Can I approach you? I swear, no touching this time."

Sam nodded and Cameron walked over to her. With every step, Sam could physically feel the increase in attraction, the pulsing of energy through her veins. When he was five steps from her, it was all she could do to keep from jumping him. One step later, she was doing just that.

Cam caught her in his arms and this time it was him against the wall. They kissed for a moment and then it was Cam who managed to push Sam. They stared at each other from the distance they had staggered away.

"What-the-HELL- is going on?" Cam asked slowly. Sam just stared at him, trying to ignore the tingles she was still feeling.

"I really have no idea. I mean… didn't it feel like the closer we go to each other the more we were attracted to each other? Almost like magnets?"

Cam raised his eyebrows. "What so we got a… human magnetizer?"

Sam let out a shaky laugh and then shook her head. "No, I don't think it's that simple."

Sighing, Cam said, "Well WHAT then?"

Taking a moment to think, Sam pointed to the middle of the room. "You go sit there."

He gave her a funny look but then did what she asked, moving to the middle of the room. Sam felt the tingling lessen even more.

"Is it just me or does that feel a little better?" Sam looked at him in question.

He nodded. "Yeah, a little… wish it felt MORE better though."

Ignoring him, she started going over the edge of the room. "I'm going to keep looking for panels. Theoretically, if we keep away from each other, we should be able to avoid… uh… any further entanglements."

With a sigh, Cam sat down on the hard floor. "Yeah… right…"


	4. Chapter 4

Back at the SGC, Sam and Cam were late for their check in. Landry called the world and tried to reach them, but got nothing back on the radio except static. When they missed their second scheduled check in, he sent a team to look for them. When they too came up empty and the Colonel's had been missing for more than 12 hours, he contacted Teal'c, Daniel, and Vala.

Teal'c came through the gate in a hurry, demanding from General Landry what exactly had happened. When he got the whole story, he was ready to go running through the gate right then, but Landry convinced him to wait for Daniel and Vala.

When they arrived back from their assignment, the team was geared up and ready to go in no time, making their way through the gate and onto the night darkened world on the other side. Teal'c had insisted that they go now, darkness or not, so they were using infrared goggles to help them see.

They exited the gate to find a man there waiting for them. When they spotted him, they quickly took their goggles off and turned on their lights, revealing his form. He smiled at them in a friendly enough way and bowed slightly.

"Hello travelers!" he said, his face calm. "I am Tal. I believe you are looking for two people, a male and female?"

Teal'c approached him and took Tal's robe in his fist, pulling him up so it was twisting around his neck. "Where are they?"

The man's face became slightly concerned as Teal'c neglected to loosen his grip and Daniel finally came up behind him.

"Hey, Teal'c?" he said, his voice matter-of-fact. "I don't think he can talk."

Vala came up to stand with them and nodded cheerily at Teal'c. He grunted low and set him down, causing Tal to reach up and grasp his neck, giving a few hacking coughs. Once the spell had passed, he regained his composure… mostly.

"As I said, I am Tal." His voice was slightly croaky. "I know where your friends are. Come with me."

The team looked at each other and Daniel spread his arm to indicate that Teal'c should lead the way after Tal.

OOOOO

Back in the room, Sam was having no luck finding any sort of panel. Having gone around the room more than ten times, she had finally given up and taken a seat at one side of the circle, while Cam sat on the other side. She could see Cam was trying to sleep but knew he wasn't. Sighing, she closed her eyes also, trying not to think about the fact that they might be stuck in this room forever. She also couldn't stop thinking about what she'd done with Cam.

Though she hoped it was all to blame on a piece of technology, she really didn't know what the truth was. It had certainly felt like something else was controlling her, but she knew she had feelings for Cam, feelings she wasn't supposed to have. She didn't know if things would be different between them now, or if things would be different between her and Teal'c. Should she tell him?

Sighing loudly, she opened her eyes and tried to rearrange herself into a more comfortable position. She noticed that Cam was staring at her from across the circle.

"What?" She asked as she looked at him.

He shrugged. "What's wrong? And don't bother sayin' nothing."

She gave him a small smile. "Aside from the fact that we may be stuck here forever?"

He raised his eyebrows in agreement but pushed her. "Really, what's up?"

She sighed and shrugged. "I don't know Cam, I mean, I just keep thinking about what happened. I keep wondering if it was a piece of tech or if… if it was just us, you know?"

He stared at her hard from the other side of the circle, his blue eyes burning her. She looked away quickly, feeling that haziness return.

He sighed. "Sam, I don't know what happened earlier but… I know you love Teal'c right?" She nodded.

"So," he continued, feeling his heart leap at the prospect, "then I think it really comes down to… what you decide you want." She heard him sigh and swallow awkwardly.

Clearing her throat, she looked up at him again. "You're right," she said, "But I keep wondering if I should tell him. And if I do, what will his reaction be? And what if he finds out anyway?"

Cam gave her a small smile. "Well, for starters, it's not like you slept with me. And secondly, it's got to be to blame on some kind of tech. You felt that weird, drunk feeling right? That's not normal."

She smiled a little and nodded. "I suppose you're right. But…" she stopped as she realized what she was about to say.

"What?" he asked from across the room.

She shook her head. "No, never mind."

There was silence for a moment and then Cam said, "Sam… what?"

She shook her head again. "Never mind, it's not important."

Cam gave her a withering look. "Sam… we're stuck in this damn room with nothing to do, you might as well keep talking… unless you want me to come over there?"

Sam let out a half irritated, half amused sigh and said, "Okay! Okay, fine…"

There was a long moment of silence while Sam considered what to say and then she forced herself to let the words out.

"Look Cam," she started, her voice shaky, "I… I love Teal'c you know that right?" She looked at him and he nodded, his eyes sincere.

"Of course." He looked at her curiously.

"Well, I just… It's not that I don't love him, I DO! But… I just… I find you very… attractive… in more ways than one."

She couldn't hold his stare, so she looked down at her hands, feeling tears collecting in her eyes. Her feelings were so confusing; she didn't know how to handle them. She heard Cam move slightly and there was silence for a moment. Cam felt his own heart leap into his neck when she admitted she found him attractive. It had been something he'd always hoped for… and yet…

"If we weren't stuck in this DAMN room, I would come over there." He said.

Sam nodded and gave him a teary smile. "I know."

He sighed. "Look Sam, it's not surprising that you're attracted to me. I mean, we work together every day, we get along great, and we're friends. Just because you're married to someone doesn't mean that will go away. I guess I don't know from experience but… I would assume that's true."

She nodded, looking at the ground.

"I know Teal'c is a passionate guy. And I also know he'll probably punch me out pretty good if he ever finds out." Cam paused. "But, the thing is, I don't think Teal'c will want to give up on you just because you kissed another guy once. I mean… that would be pretty petty."

Sam nodded, her sniffing loud in the quiet room.

"Especially," Cam added, "under the duress of alien tech."

Sam smiled and there was silence for a long time. She started crying more and her body started to shake as she pulled her knees into her chest. Cam remained silent and unmoving, knowing he couldn't comfort her. After a moment, he contented himself with saying,

"Teal'cs a good man Sam. He loves you and he's not going to let you go."

OOOOO

Some hours later, Cam was still wide awake but Sam had worn herself out from crying. Her form was sprawled out on the floor across the room from him, her face towards him, her features relaxed. He sighed as he looked at her. She was so beautiful. He had been attracted to her almost from the moment he'd met her but she had always been Teal'cs. Cam had grown close to both of them and, to his dismay, his attraction to Sam had only grown as he had gotten to know her. For him to find out she was attracted to him too was almost a dream come true.

And yet…

He had brief happy thoughts of him and Sam together, played earlier events over and over in his head. He wondered what would happen if Sam did choose him, if her and Teal'c did break up. But then he really thought about it…

Teal'c was one of his best friends. If Sam and Teal'c broke up over Cam, he would lose Teal'cs friendship forever, SG1 would be split beyond repair, and Teal'c might leave Earth all together. The thought of losing Teal'c was an ugly mark in his mind.

As he thought about the consequences that would follow from loving Sam, he knew he could never love her. Yes, he was attracted to her and yes, his feelings may never go away, but he knew he had to do all he could to help Sam and Teal'c through this time. If he ever did anything to get between them, he could never forgive himself.

Unbidden, Cam found tears running down his own cheeks and it was a long time before he too fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

The man led the three SG1 members through the woods for some time until they arrived at a bunker-like building hidden in the trees. After putting in a code, the door scanned Tal's eyes and then opened with a hiss. Everyone followed him inside.

It was a simple room; mostly square and made of a hard, bluish material that reminded Daniel of concrete. There was what appeared to be a window on the far side of the room but, as they got closer, Daniel realized it was a screen. There was also a control panel below with many buttons on it.

The screens showed a circular room with two people inside. Daniel realized who they were almost the moment after he noticed them; Colonel Carter and Colonel Mitchell.

Teal'c saw them and gave a low grunt, reaching towards Tal again and pressing him roughly against the wall.

"Release them immediately or I will show you the wrath of the Jaffa."

Daniel and Vala came up behind him and nodded.

"Yes," Vala said, "It would be a pity if you had to find out how protective of his wife Teal'c can be."

Tal looked at her questioningly from his position against the wall. "Wife?"

Vala nodded happily. "Yes, life partner. Like me and Daniel here." She gave Daniel a wide smile and Daniel couldn't help but smile a little back.

"The woman in there is your life partner?" Tal asked, his voice sounding a little sly.

Teal'c gave him one of his signature stern looks and Tal gave him a scared smile.

"Okay, let me go and I'll explain everything."

After a moment more of staring, Teal'c released Tal and he took a moment to compose himself. Walking over to the screens again, Tal turned to the group of three.

"As you can see, I have two of your people captive. And I want something for them. I know that your people have found the ruins of Amale. I know your people have taken the healing device. I want it back in exchange for your people."

The three looked at each other and Daniel frowned. "How did you know we had been there?"

Tal laughed. "My people and the people of this world regularly make pilgrimages to the ruins of Amale. The healing device is legend. Its powers are known to all the people of this world."

Daniel continued to frown. "Why didn't you guard the device then? We had no idea it belonged to anyone. The site appeared abandoned."

Tal nodded. "Yes, that is the best defense it has. No one has any reason to go to that world, as it has been abandoned for a long time. At first glance, the device appears to be nothing special and we have not had trouble with thieves for the many thousands of years it has been there."

Daniel nodded, turning to Vala. "It was difficult to remove from the ruins and it didn't appear out of the ordinary until we scanned it."

Vala looked thoughtful. "Yes, that's true. So Tal," she said, walking over to him. "If we give you back your healing device, will you give us back Sam and Cameron?"

Tal smiled with a quirky smile. "Yes, I would."

Vala smiled wide and opened her hands, turning to the boys. "Well boys, problem solved! Let's go home and get the device."

Vala was about to march right out of the room, but Daniel caught her arm and pulled her back. Teal'c was watching the two Colonels with a concerned expression.

"What is it Teal'c?" Daniel asked.

Teal'c turned to Daniel with a frown. "Do you not find it odd that they would sit as far away from each other as possible?"

Daniel and Vala came over to look at the screen and saw that they were sitting at opposite ends of the room from each other. They looked at each other and then back at the screen.

"Well, maybe they had a huge fight and they don't want to be near each other," Vala said, quite convinced of the fact.

Teal'c grunted and then said, "I do not believe they would let such a thing come between them in this situation."

Vala consented with a side nod and turned to Daniel. "Daniel, what do you think love?"

But Daniel was looking at Tal, who had carefully turned away and was pretending to work on something.

"You know why they're sitting like that don't you?" Daniel asked.

Tal turned with an innocent expression and shrugged. "Me? I don't have any idea."

"Oh don't play innocent with me!" Daniel walked over to him. "What did you do to them? Torture?"

Tal's expression was shocked. "I would never torture them! It's not in my nature. I couldn't."

Daniel looked at him carefully and Teal'c came to stand next to him, staring Tal down.

"What then?" Daniel asked, his expression stern.

Tal floundered with his words for a while, trying to think of something to say but Teal'c lost patience and grabbed him by the collar again. That made him finally throw up his hands and surrender.

"Okay, okay! But… it's not my fault! And… well… you're not going to like the answer."

Teal'c put him down and continued to stare at him.

"Are you sure you want to know?" Tal asked a little sheepishly.

Teal'c came towards him again and Tal cowered. "Okay, fine!" Holding up his hands he looked towards the screens. "But you won't like it!"

Walking past Teal'c and giving him a wide birth, he approached the screens and sighed, pushing buttons to make the screen images change.

"You recorded their whole imprisonment?" Vala asked.

Tal nodded. "It's automatic. I have no control over it."

He continued to flip through the video until he seemed to find the clip he wanted. Then, he stepped to the side and sighed heavily, pushing play.

It was apparent the Colonels were looking for something along the walls of the circle. They met at one section of the circle and turned towards each other. Then, to everyone's surprise, Cam touched Sam's face and a moment later they were making-out with an intensity that surprised even Vala.

All of them were too shocked to look away, watching the two as they unclipped their guns and Cam pushed Sam against the wall. A moment later Cam was kissing her neck and Sam's eyes were closed. A whispered "Cam" came from her lips a moment later.

Tal paused the video and Daniel's eyes flitted from the video to Teal'c face. His expression was completely non-descript, his eyes glued to the two bodies on the screen. Even Vala was at a loss for words, her mouth slightly open in shock. Daniel was the first to regain his composure.

He turned a hard expression on Tal. "What the hell did you do to them?"

Tal raised his hands, his expression worried. "I didn't do anything to them, I swear! It's all the room! Please, give me a chance to explain!"

Teal'c seemed to come out of his revere and he turned to Tal, picking him up bodily and slamming him against the wall.

"What did you do to them?" he yelled at Tal. Tal, for his part, was a cowering, whimpering mess and wouldn't have been able to answer him if he tried. Daniel came up to Teal'c, placing a gentle hand on his arm.

"Teal'c, I feel the same way you do, believe me, but if we want to get to the bottom of this we have to let him answer our questions. He can't do that pined to the wall."

Teal'c clenched his jaw and then dropped him a moment later, turning and walking to the other side of the room, punching the hard stone wall. Daniel sat down on his haunches and started down Tal.

"So, tell us what happened. What is this room?"

Tal coughed a few times to clear his voice and then took a deep breath. "I only used this room because it's a fool proof prison. I wasn't trying to hurt them in any way. I had no idea the room would have the effect on them."

Vala sat down near Daniel. "Just tell us what it does."

"Okay… This room has been here for a long time. My people and our ancestors have used it since we came to this world so long ago. More recently it has served its use as a short-term prison. But, in more ancient times it was used to… to decipher who was faithful and who was unfaithful." He paused and Daniel looked at him with a confused expression. "Let me explain."

Taking another breath, he continued. "In the past, when a husband or a wife suspected their spouse of unfaithfulness, they could bring them here to this room and put them in with the person they suspected them of being unfaithful with. The room is equipped with some sort of technology that lowers inhibitions and allows attraction to be felt and acted upon. So, if someone like you," he motioned to Daniel, "And your mate were to go into the room the assumption would be that you wouldn't be able to keep your hands of each other."

Vala gave Daniel a sidelong look. "Well, that's true already."

Daniel gave her a slightly stern look and then turned back to Tal.

"But that doesn't prove anything," Daniel said. "Sam and Cam love each other, that much is obvious, because they've worked closely together for a long time and they're good friends. But they're not _lovers_."

Tal sighed. "Well, you are right that good friends would feel the urge to touch each other but not like that." He motioned to the screen. "Good friends might be inclined to hold hands or hug more often, but not… you know…"

Daniel glanced behind himself at Teal'c, who was standing with his arms crossed, staring at the screen, but obviously listening to Tal. Daniel turned back, sighing.

"So, what does that tell us then? That they're attracted to each other?"

Tal gave a nod. "Yes. It tells you they are very attracted to each other. In the past, kissing like that would have been taken as admission of guilt. BUT," he paused, "BUT we have learned that it doesn't PROVE that two people have been together before this moment. It ONLY proves they feel attraction to each other."

Daniel pressed his lips together. "That still doesn't explain why they're sitting as far away from each other as possible."

Tal raised his eyebrows. "Ah, well, that should be an indication of their innocence if nothing else. The closer you are to the person within the room, the more heavily you feel the attraction, the harder it is to keep from kissing or being together in some way."

"They could just be worried someone is watching," Teal'c said, his voice tightly controlled.

Daniel closed his eyes slightly and let out a breath. "How do we know you're not lying?"

Tal shrugged and motioned to the room. "Go in and see for yourself. I have no reason to lie. I just want the healing device returned."

Daniel looked at Vala and she shrugged but Teal'c said something before either of them could.

"I will go in." He had turned towards them, his expression severe.

"Teal'c," Daniel said carefully, standing from his position near the ground. "I don't know if that's such-

"No, Daniel, I _will _go in. I MUST discover the truth." His eyes were flashing and Daniel knew better than to cross him.

Tal motioned to the rings that were in the corner. "You may enter this way."

Daniel was about the protest again but Vala took his arm and squeezed it. "I don't think you're going to change his mind Daniel. And you're just going to make him angrier if you try."

Daniel sighed as they watched Teal'c disappear. "Yeah, I know."

OOOOO

Sam and Cameron were both awake when Teal'c ringed into the room. They both rose in surprise when they saw him and Cam was the first to speak.

"Teal'c! Boy are we glad to see you!" He barely had the chance to finish his sentence before Teal'c had punched him hard in the face, causing him to twirl around and catch himself on the wall.

"Okay," Cam said, holding his face, "I deserved that."

Teal'c had already turned to Samantha, walking over to her standing form, feeling a strange muddiness enter his brain. His breathing increased and he could feel his heart beating faster. Sam too felt the haziness return with great intensity as Teal'c came towards her. A moment later, they had connected with each other, their lips crashing together, his strong body pressing hers against the wall, strong arms pulling her legs around him. They kissed each other for a long moment, intensely, making Cam feel extremely uncomfortable. But only a moment later, Teal'c had pried himself away from her, much to her dismay, and made his way back to the middle of the circle.

"Take me out of here Tal!" Teal'c yelled and only a moment later, he was ringed back to the surface.

Cam stared at Sam across the circle. "What was that about?"

Sam's eyes slid to his from their position on the ceiling. They were swimming with tears. Cam sighed and started to walk over to her but she held out her hands to stop him. He screwed up his face and made a fist, turning around with a jerky motion.

"Damn this room!"

He looked up at the ceiling. "Hey guys! Get us the HELL out of here! What are you doin' up there? Just thought you'd drop in and then leave us stranded?"

He sat down heavily and stared at Sam across the circle. "I'm sorry about this Sam."

She shook her head through her tears. "No, it's not your fault. I guess now I don't have to decide if I should tell him or not. He already knows."

Cam nodded and they both looked at the floor.


End file.
